Social Media Branding
July 23, 2008
Social Media Branding combines the principles of social media with the principles of branding.
An explanation …
Most of us know the principles of branding - reputation, image, positioning, name recognition, consistency, customer experience, product quality, etc. These are still true. The difference today is that most brands are at the mercy of The People. Less gently put, social media empowers people to grow or kill a brand in the blink of an eye. And you really can’t do much about it - other than manage the customer experience and keep open lines of dialogue.
The common denominator between brands and social media is people. Brands grow because of people. And social media accelerates relationships amongst people. With the exception of e-Commerce, most customers equate their brand experience with the people they interacted with. This is why social media allows big brands to act small and personal, while allowing small brands to reach more people. This is what makes social media such a powerful branding tool - people talking to people on a mass scale.
What has really changed are the rules of marketing - CPM, repetition, message control, promotion, etc. Consider some of the principles of social media:
- Social media is not a broadcast medium. It is a conversation platform.
- The heart-and-soul of social media is the conversation.
- Social media is person-to-person not company-to-person.
- Social media requires a transparent and open culture from all parties.
Of course, there are more principles, but these suffice to get the point across that almost all of the commonly held rules of marketing are diametrically opposed to social media. Simply put, nobody likes the guy who talks too loud and hands out his business card to everyone.
So …
What happens when you are transparent about your brand’s personality and purpose? What happens when you allow your employees and customers to be the “face” of your brand? What happens when your brand becomes a conversation topic? You get a brand that is social.
To learn more about how to develop your brand, click here.
6 Traits of Great Brands
July 23, 2008
What makes a great brand?
- They have a purpose; and this purpose inspires action.
- They have a simple idea and stick to it through trends and changes.
- They are driven by people - customers, employees, and stakeholders.
- They grow because of legends; stories told by the people that drive the brand.
- They are high-integrity organizations that are naturally transparent.
- They respect heritage, but embrace the future - as such, they are always relevant.
Notice that these are age-old rules of branding. In other words, great ad campaigns don’t create great brands. New tools like social media don’t create great brands. Great brands are born of integrity, great ideas, and- most of all - great people.
Video: Social Media
July 15, 2008
“Why am I using this tool?”
People start using a social media tool often and end up asking this question. We discuss how to find momentum and usage for social media tools.
Have you ever felt this way? Which tools do you feel are more relevant to your toolset than others?
Video: iPhone Brand
July 15, 2008
Is it possible to be product-centric, even user-centric, and still not be customer centric?
We discuss Apple and the iPhone and how these brands dominate even after cashing in good amounts of customer equity.
What do you think?
Summer Newsletter
July 7, 2008
This is a post of the eNewsletter we sent out last week …
Greetings from the Tricycle Crew - Justin, John, and Sam!
We wanted to update everyone on what have been working on in the Tricycle garage - new workshops and services, blogs and videos, and more! As always, if you don’t wish to receive these updates, just let us know via reply - or click on “unsubscribe” below.
“How To” Workshops
We have created a series of “micro-workshops” to give you hands-on knowledge and expert information on all of the tools and tactics of modern marketing, branding, and business. For the next 2 months, we will covering social media tools. After that, we will be bringing in outside experts to talk about media buying, public relations, web marketing/SEO, intellectual property, and more. These workshops will all be held at our office at 702 W. Idaho. We are on the 10th floor of the KeyBank building on Capitol and Idaho.
Blogging - From Beginner to Rock Star
Blogging is not a fad. It is the next generation of communication.
Blogging 101 - Tuesday, July 8th - 9:00 am - 11:00 am.
Blogging 201 - Tuesday, August 5 - 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Blogging 301 - Tuesday, August 26 - 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Cost is $100/person. If you register for all 3, you receive a $100 discount. Seating is limited to 10 and a laptop is required. For more information and to register, click here.
Understanding Social Networking
Social Networking is not a fad. It is the next generation of relationship management.
Social Networking 101 - Tuesday, July 15th - 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Social Networking 201 - Tuesday, July 22nd - 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Social Networking 301 - Tuesday, July 29th - 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Cost is $100/person. If you register for all 3, you receive a $100 discount. Seating is limited to 10 and a laptop is required. For more information and to register, click here.
Full Workshops
Personal Branding III - Tuesday, July 24
On Tuesday, July 24, we are conducting our 3rd rendition of our personal branding workshop - “Brand Yourself :: Becoming an Icon”. As before, it will be held at George Fox University (Meridian, ID campus) from 9:30 am - 3:00 pm. The cost is $300/person (group discounts available). Refreshments/lunch included. Based on the great reviews we received from the last two workshops, the primary take-aways are clarity about your personal brand, and how to create a personal branding strategy. As we have said before, it is critical to develop a brand separate from your company.
For more information and to register, click here.
Note: If you are receiving this e-mail outside of the Boise area, we are happy to travel to your location to provide the same workshops. Just contact us for details and arrangements.
Recent Tricycle Ideas
Post: The Story of PicklePops!
Video: Transparency
Video: McCain’s Simple Idea
Video: Obama’s Simple Idea
Purpose Inspires Action
We have created a 3-step process for helping to develop great brands. For our existing clients, this process will be familiar. It provides the opportunity to engage with us on a 1-on-1 basis to create direction, discipline, and accountability for your brand. It is the tangible manifestation of our ideas - 1000 Year Brand, Simple Idea, and more. To review a PDF of the offering, click here.
10 Traits - 1000 Year Brand
July 3, 2008
As we have studied 1000 Year Brands, there are some obvious common denominators. There are 3 core traits: great idea, great relationships, and great business model. Consider this a running analysis as we continue to discover additional traits and new 1000 Year Brand candidates.
- Low employee turn-over. In fact, a common issue with 1000 Year Brands is extracting the “tribal knowledge” from long-term employees.
- An original simple idea that still remains - OR - the inspiration and implementation of new ideas that keep a brand relevant.
- Stories - especially about employees or customers. A good sign of this is when you don’t need a press release to get the story out. You just tell it (usually via your site or employees) and it gets picked up by the masses and the media.
- A respect for tradition but an obsession with staying relevant. This is closely related to just being “cool” within a community of people.
- A sense of inevitability. This doesn’t mean that a brand becomes a verb (i.e. Xerox). It means where the brand becomes a verb and it truly is what is done - i.e. FedEx’d, Googled.
- Outward manifestation of reverence. This could be tattoos, stickers, customer-created advertising - or simply a photo of a guy’s dream car hanging in his cubicle.
- A respect for traditional and heritage, but a brand that is still fresh and new.
- A “family tree” of former employees and executives that went on to create their own 1000 Year Brands.
- Consistently staying at the top of 3 key lists: Best Places to Work, Most Respected Brands, and Long-term Stock Value.
- A legacy, typically done quietly, of community involvement.
It is not necessary for a great brand to have all of these traits, but as we look at 1000 Year Brands like Coke, Apple, Google, FedEx, Jack Daniels, and hundreds more, you can definitely see a pattern of greatness. In addition, a 1000 Year Brand doesn’t have to be famous. It could be a local company who is big in the hearts and minds of their area of influence.
As always, your submission of additional traits is encouraged and appreciated - along with you providing us some great 1000 Year Brand and/or Simple Idea stories.
Event Calendar
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